After Life (Buffy episode)
Encyclopedia
"After Life" is the third episode of season 6 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
and figure she is at her house. The bikers are on the run now that Razor has been destroyed. At the house, Buffy is confused and acting weird as she surveys the changed scenery of her house and is told by Dawn
that Giles
has left. Spike arrives, angry and looking for Dawn, though when he realizes the real Buffy is back he softens and helps clean up her wounded hands. They talk about how long she's been gone; Spike has counted the days, all 147 of them. When the Scooby Gang arrives and focuses on the Slayer, Spike slips out.
Unable to stand all the concern, Buffy goes upstairs while Xander
and Anya
leave for food. Outside, the two find a hurt Spike who's furious that he wasn't told about the plan to resurrect Buffy, despite having helped the gang all summer. He realises that his love of Buffy would have made him an obstacle if Buffy returned as something that would have had to have been destroyed. He warns Xander of the consequences they'll have to face, because they always exist with magic.
After notifying Giles of Buffy's return, Willow
and Tara
go to bed and talk about the spell and changes in Buffy. In her room, Buffy looks at the pictures surrounding her and they briefly turn to pictures of skulls. During the night, Willow and Tara are visited in their room by a Buffy who yells at them and hints at Willow killing the deer in "Bargaining, Part One". When the girls get up to investigate, Buffy's asleep in her room and neither knows the source of the incident. A moving lump appears in the ceiling and motivates Willow to call Xander. In the background while Xander talks, Anya enters the room with a knife and smokey eyes, slitting her cheek before collapsing as the lump travels across the floor.
The gang gather the next day for brainstorming, but no one is sure what this thing is and Buffy is still very closed off. At the Magic Box, Buffy still seems out of place and leaves to patrol alone. With Buffy gone, the demon has taken over Dawn who shouts at her friends and breathes fire before collapsing. Buffy finds Spike at his crypt and the two talk, rather awkwardly at first. Spike opens up to her, expressing his guilt for not saving her or Dawn. He explains that every night afterwards, he thought up better ways to rescue her and he wishes so much to have been able to do it for real.
Led on by Spike's hinting that Willow knew her spell might do something bad, Xander questions whether either of the witches knew the dangers but is quickly quieted. Willow reveals that this creature was created by the spell that brought Buffy back. The demon currently does not possess a body, which is why it has been possessing members of the gang. A reversal of the spell will cancel out the creation of the demon, but it can't be done without also reversing Buffy's resurrection. After Dawn panics about the concept of losing Buffy again, Willow discovers that the demon can only survive if Buffy is killed. The demon, which had been housed in Xander's body while Willow shared this information, thanks Willow for the tip and heads for the Slayer.
Buffy is attacked by the formless demon which she can't hurt, but she can be hurt by it. Willow and Tara cast a spell to make the demon solid. Buffy kills the demon with an axe. Normality is somewhat resumed as Dawn heads to school the next day and Buffy sees her off. Buffy visits her friends at the shop and tells them that she was in Hell and she appreciates that they brought her back.
Buffy goes outside behind the shop to be alone, where she finds Spike hiding in a patch of shade. He tries to talk to her and offers to help her if there is any way he can. She admits to him that although she wasn't initially sure where she was, she knows that she wasn't in Hell
. She was in Heaven
and was happy, and her friends pulled her out. Spike is shocked as she tells him that this reality is her Hell as she wanted to go back to heaven, and she stresses that her friends can never know the truth.
Plot synopsis
The Scooby Gang rushes to find BuffyBuffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
and figure she is at her house. The bikers are on the run now that Razor has been destroyed. At the house, Buffy is confused and acting weird as she surveys the changed scenery of her house and is told by Dawn
Dawn Summers
Dawn Summers is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Marti Noxon and David Fury on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg. She made her debut in the premiere episode of the show's fifth season, and subsequently appeared in every...
that Giles
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...
has left. Spike arrives, angry and looking for Dawn, though when he realizes the real Buffy is back he softens and helps clean up her wounded hands. They talk about how long she's been gone; Spike has counted the days, all 147 of them. When the Scooby Gang arrives and focuses on the Slayer, Spike slips out.
Unable to stand all the concern, Buffy goes upstairs while Xander
Xander Harris
Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as in numerous items in the series Expanded Universe, such as comic books, tie-in novels and video games...
and Anya
Anya Jenkins
Anya is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also appears in the comic book series based on the television show. Portrayed by Emma Caulfield, the character appears as a guest star in the third and fourth seasons of the show before...
leave for food. Outside, the two find a hurt Spike who's furious that he wasn't told about the plan to resurrect Buffy, despite having helped the gang all summer. He realises that his love of Buffy would have made him an obstacle if Buffy returned as something that would have had to have been destroyed. He warns Xander of the consequences they'll have to face, because they always exist with magic.
After notifying Giles of Buffy's return, Willow
Willow Rosenberg
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan...
and Tara
Tara Maclay
Tara Maclay is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed by Amber Benson from the fourth to the sixth season until the character's death. Tara is a shy young woman with magical talents who falls in love...
go to bed and talk about the spell and changes in Buffy. In her room, Buffy looks at the pictures surrounding her and they briefly turn to pictures of skulls. During the night, Willow and Tara are visited in their room by a Buffy who yells at them and hints at Willow killing the deer in "Bargaining, Part One". When the girls get up to investigate, Buffy's asleep in her room and neither knows the source of the incident. A moving lump appears in the ceiling and motivates Willow to call Xander. In the background while Xander talks, Anya enters the room with a knife and smokey eyes, slitting her cheek before collapsing as the lump travels across the floor.
The gang gather the next day for brainstorming, but no one is sure what this thing is and Buffy is still very closed off. At the Magic Box, Buffy still seems out of place and leaves to patrol alone. With Buffy gone, the demon has taken over Dawn who shouts at her friends and breathes fire before collapsing. Buffy finds Spike at his crypt and the two talk, rather awkwardly at first. Spike opens up to her, expressing his guilt for not saving her or Dawn. He explains that every night afterwards, he thought up better ways to rescue her and he wishes so much to have been able to do it for real.
Led on by Spike's hinting that Willow knew her spell might do something bad, Xander questions whether either of the witches knew the dangers but is quickly quieted. Willow reveals that this creature was created by the spell that brought Buffy back. The demon currently does not possess a body, which is why it has been possessing members of the gang. A reversal of the spell will cancel out the creation of the demon, but it can't be done without also reversing Buffy's resurrection. After Dawn panics about the concept of losing Buffy again, Willow discovers that the demon can only survive if Buffy is killed. The demon, which had been housed in Xander's body while Willow shared this information, thanks Willow for the tip and heads for the Slayer.
Buffy is attacked by the formless demon which she can't hurt, but she can be hurt by it. Willow and Tara cast a spell to make the demon solid. Buffy kills the demon with an axe. Normality is somewhat resumed as Dawn heads to school the next day and Buffy sees her off. Buffy visits her friends at the shop and tells them that she was in Hell and she appreciates that they brought her back.
Buffy goes outside behind the shop to be alone, where she finds Spike hiding in a patch of shade. He tries to talk to her and offers to help her if there is any way he can. She admits to him that although she wasn't initially sure where she was, she knows that she wasn't in Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. She was in Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and was happy, and her friends pulled her out. Spike is shocked as she tells him that this reality is her Hell as she wanted to go back to heaven, and she stresses that her friends can never know the truth.
Production details
- The scene in which Anya is possessed by the demon ghost and slashes her face several times while laughing maniacally was trimmed by SkyOne for the UK broadcast to show her laughing and then collapsing, editing out the face-slashing.
Arc significance
- This is not the only unseen force to "hitch a ride" with Buffy. In season 7 it is revealed that the resurrection spell is the key to the First EvilFirst EvilThe First Evil is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The First Evil first appeared in the third season episode "Amends", and became the main antagonist of the 7th and final season.A being manifested from all evil in existence, the First is an...
being able to attempt an apocalypse, which will put the entire world in danger and become Buffy's ultimate foe in season 7. - In this episode, Buffy reveals that her friends' decision to perform the resurrection spell has resulted in her being torn out of heaven. This makes the Slayer feel isolated, alone and depressed throughout most of Season 6.
- Willow calls Giles to tell him that Buffy is alive, which results in his return to SunnydaleSunnydaleSunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...
in the next episode. - Spike is shown to be the second person to be worried about Willow's magic strengthening (the first was Tara, in season 5, and again seen worried during the resurrection), foreshadowing Willow's magic addiction throughout the season. Spike's parting words are "The thing about magic - there's always consequences - always!", which is the theme for many episodes of the show, as early on as "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" in season 2.
- Spike shows great concern for Buffy. He identifies that her injured hands come from climbing out of a coffin, an experience he also had to deal with. This is the first example in Season 6 of Spike being able to relate to Buffy more closely than her human friends, which eventually leads to their physical relationship.